Apple now replacing original iPod nanos due to overheating batteries

Have you ever had an iPod nano catch fire on you? Even if you haven't, if you still have a first-generation iPod nano, the risk is there. Six years after the introduction of the original nano, Apple has rolled out a replacement program in order to address potential battery overheating issues.

Apple began notifying users late Friday about the replacement program. According to the company: "This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages." The company recommends that users stop using their first-gen iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 and apply for a free replacement through its website.

Those with long memories may recall that there was a series of laptop battery recalls that took place throughout the fall of 2006, with big names like Apple, Dell, Toshiba, and Sony replacing the lithium-ion batteries in many of their portable products. In August of 2006, Apple issued a statement saying that "microscopic metal particles" in its battery cells manufactured by Sony could lead to a short circuit, leading to potential overheating issues and even fires.

It certainly sounds as if the first-generation iPod nano batteries are suffering the same fate, as they were manufactured and sold during the same time period as the laptop battery fiasco. Complaints about the original nano began cropping up in Japan and South Korea not long after (starting in about 2008), with Apple eventually agreeing to replace any overheating devices in those countries. Now, it looks as if Apple's replacement program is just being extended to cover the rest of the world, so if you still have one of these in rotation (as I do, strangely enough), you may want to get it replaced so you don't wake up one night to iPod nano flambé.